BBC Education
BBC Education
Religious Education
Curriculum Intent
Our aim is to provide an interesting curriculum that introduces students to relevant issues in religion, philosophy and ethics. We will cover a diverse range of religious beliefs and philosophical approaches to benefit our students’ personal development and awareness of significant issues in modern society. We promote SMSC development across our schemes of work. British values are explored and the importance of respecting the views of others is prioritised.
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We want our students to enjoy their learning and to encourage them to have an open mind in understanding and appreciating different world views as well as communicating themselves efficiently. We want our students to be reflective and critically evaluate their own viewpoints in order to foster a full awareness of self and the importance of engaging with others especially when differences are discovered.
Welcome to the Religious Education department at the Burgate School and Sixth Form Centre.
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RE at the Burgate School follows the locally agreed syllabus, ‘Living Difference’. Students have opportunities to learn about living faiths and how people following different beliefs actually live them out. In doing this students will appreciate how and why people live differently from each other.
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We aim to encourage students to:
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have REspect for other people’s ideas
compaRE religions
interpREt art, history, politics - religion affects them all
REspond to religion in their own way
REsearch what other people believe and why
expREss their own opinions and beliefs and share them with others
search for the sacREd side of life
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We support students in the development of their own values and principles and in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
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During Year 7 anad 8 students learn systematically and critically about religion and belief, covering Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Students also learn about modern issues that permeate our world, considering how people of faith and none respond to them.
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The course is divided into two topic areas:
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Thematic Studies (Philosophy and Ethics):
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The Existence of God
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Human Rights and Social Justice
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Relationships and Families
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Religion and Life
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Religion, crime and punishment
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The Study of Religions:
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Christianity – Beliefs and Teachings
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Christianity – Practices
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Buddhism – Beliefs and Teachings
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Buddhism – Practices
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Each topic equates to 50% of the total GCSE marks and has a 1 hour 45 minutes written exam.
GCSE: Years 9-11 (AQA)
Year 7 & 8
Sixth Form: Year 12-13 (OCR)
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RS (Philosophy and Ethics) Content Overview
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The course is divided into three topic areas:
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Philosophy of Religion
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Students study philosophical language and thought, and issues and questions raised by belief:
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Ancient philosophical influences
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the nature of the soul, mind and body
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Arguments about the existence or non-existence of God
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The nature and impact of religious experience
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The challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil
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Ideas about the nature of God
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Issues in religious language.
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Religion and Ethics
Students explore key concepts and the works of influential thinkers, ethical theories and their application:
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Normative ethical theories
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The application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance
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Ethical language and thought
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Debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience
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Sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs.
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Christianity (03)
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Developments in Religious Thought
Students explore:
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Religious beliefs, values and teachings, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world
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Sources of religious wisdom and authority
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Practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition
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Significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought
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Key themes related to the relationship between religion and society.
Each component equates to 33% of the total mark and has a 2 hour written exam.
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